Kelvin E.Y. Low studied sociology and anthropology at Bielefeld University and the National University of Singapore (NUS). He is Professor and Head of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at NUS. His core areas of research include sensory studies, migration and transnationalism, food and foodways, and social memory and heritage. He is author or editor of 8 books, with the most recent titles being Sensory Anthropology: Culture and Experience in Asia (Cambridge University Press, 2023; 2024 Choice Awards, American Library Association); and Bracketed Belonging: Gurkha Migrant Warriors and Transnational Lives (Cornell University Press, 2025). A latest study is forthcoming - Sensory Contact Zones in the City (Cambridge University Press; in press). 

In addition to his co-editorship of Current Sociology, Kelvin sits on the editorial boards of journals including Cultural Anthropology, Sociology, Cultural Sociology, and The Senses and Society. He is also academic editor-in-chief of the Social Sciences in Asia book series published by Brill, and he contributes as editorial advisory board member of the Perspectives On Sensory History book series (Penn State University Press). Furthermore, he sits on the International Scientific Advisory Board of the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), and the National Collections Advisory Panel of the National Heritage Board, Singapore.

Kelvin also contributes as reviewer for grant applications with the National Heritage Board, Singapore, Social Science Research Council, European Research Council, Austrian Science Fund, and German Research Foundation (DFG).